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David Handley AM (BA 鈥�87, LLB 鈥�89) has some advice for up-and-coming social entrepreneurs: 鈥淵ou need to have real passion for what you鈥檙e doing, or you鈥檙e not going to succeed,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o, either keep it as a hobby or, if it鈥檚 going to be a career, you need to jump in boots and all.鈥�

It鈥檚 been more than two-and-a-half decades since Handley jumped in 鈥榖oots and all鈥�, founding Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, aged 31. He had just 10 weeks to produce the first event 鈥渨ith a marketing budget of $400.鈥� And the rest is history. The first exhibition was held over one day in 1997 and attracted approximately 25,000 people. 鈥淚n 2022, we had 465,000 visitors,鈥� Handley says.

This year marks the 25th year of the iconic Sydney event (two years were cancelled by you-know-what). Over that time, the exhibition has shown 2,691 sculptures by more than 1,000 artists from 51 countries. Handley鈥檚 concept has also spread from Sydney鈥檚 eastern suburbs to Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia and into the Snowy Valleys. He was even asked by Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary to launch a version in Denmark.

Handley鈥檚 inspiration was in part drawn from his fascination with Czech history. He was fascinated by the 1968 Prague Spring, when the then-Soviet Union sent in tanks to crush the liberalising reforms that were taking place in Czechoslovakia. 鈥淚t was one of the most devastating moments of the 20th century. But the months before the invasion saw a flowering of creativity and freedom of expression there,鈥� Handley says. 鈥淪culpture by the Sea is the type of event I like to think would have been spawned by the Prague Spring had it continued.鈥�

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, he spent weeks touring cities that had been cloaked in darkness for decades, including making his first visit to Prague. Then in 1993, when he quit his job as a solicitor, he bought a one-way ticket there from Sydney, and it was among the ruins of a 13th-century Czech castle that Handley experienced 鈥渢he power, drama and theatricality of sculpture鈥� in an outdoor setting. He realised this was the art form for the large-scale, free public event he had wanted to produce since his early 20s.

Back in Sydney in early 1997, a friend suggested he should walk the coastal path at Bondi to see if it would be a fitting backdrop to his vision. It was. 鈥淚 could just see where the sculptures would go 鈥� and that backdrop of the Tasman Sea is extraordinary,鈥� he says.

The eldest of four brothers, Handley could have been born to the Bar. His father, the Honorable Kenneth Handley AO (BA 鈥�55, LLB 鈥�58), was a prominent Sydney QC and a New South Wales Court of Appeal judge. However, the young David had no expectation of a legal career. 鈥淚 only practised law for two years so I could get some understanding of the commercial world,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 always knew I wanted to go into business myself.

鈥淯niversity was a key foundation of my life, and what I learnt was fundamental to survive in the business world,鈥� Handley says. 鈥淢any of my year group who are lawyers are now donors to Sculptures by the Sea. I鈥檝e been really touched by that. But their support is not just about our relationship, it鈥檚 more to do with what the exhibition does for society.鈥�

Another key memory from his time at the University of Sydney in the mid-1980s is of rocking out with his band in their heyday. 鈥淲e were a typical uni rock band,鈥� explains Handley, who was the band鈥檚 lead singer. Among their gigs was a show for the resident doctors of St Vincent鈥檚 Hospital. 鈥淲e had fun. I think it鈥檚 essential for anyone to make the best of their talents, which may not be what they are studying.鈥�

Although music did not turn out to be his shining talent, years later Handley went to watch Symphony Under the Stars, the annual event held in the Domain at Yuletide. 鈥淚 was impressed with the free event, the community and humanity. With so many music events, I thought I would look for another art form which could be the foundation stone for a similar free-to-the-public event.

鈥淢ost days on my way to the law office, I walked past Brett Whiteley鈥檚 Big Matchsticks sculpture outside the Art Gallery of NSW. The two matchsticks 鈥� one pristine, the other burnt to a cinder 鈥� were a mirror of my life, all of our lives,鈥� Handley says. 鈥淓ach of us has a moment aflame, of brilliance, then we鈥檙e burnt. That sculpture helped steel my courage.鈥�

He never looked back. In 2018, Oxford Economics estimated that Sculpture by the Sea had delivered $38.9 million to the NSW economy 鈥� $85.3 million indirectly 鈥� with 19 percent of visitors coming from Sydney鈥檚 western suburbs and another 14 percent from regional NSW. It remains a free event, supported by sponsors and state government funding.

鈥淪culpture sales also just started to happen. I was quite thrown by this, at first,鈥� Handley says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want this to be a major selling show, but the market does what the market does 鈥� and it鈥檚 always a challenge to find the money each year.鈥�

So, after a quarter of a century, what are his favourite sculptures by the sea? His all-time favourite is聽The Ruin, 2011, by Marcus Tatton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the kind of ruin you might see as you drive through any part of Outback Australia 鈥� and looked stunning on Tamarama Beach made of firewood.鈥� Another favourite is Lucy Humphrey鈥檚聽Horizon, 2013, a giant water-filled ball overlooking the ocean 鈥� 鈥渁n orb on the Tamarama headland that turned the world upside-down.鈥�

It was important for Handley also that the exhibition developed, from its early years, programs for schools and people with disabilities. And it was for this that he received recognition by being made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016. Handley says his aim was to make Sculpture by the Sea accessible for everyone.

鈥淲e wanted to make the exhibition available for people who are visually impaired or blind or with other needs regarding sensory processing. To feel the sculptures and to be talked through them by the guides is a really unique way of experiencing them.鈥�

Ahead, the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail continues to grow, along with the recovery of bushfire-devastated communities, working with Handley to evolve the project. 鈥淲e currently have 35 sculptures at eight locations across 150 kilometres 鈥� and by December next year, it鈥檒l be over 50 sculptures in 11 locations.鈥� He is also approached every couple of weeks with proposals to create Sculptures by the Sea overseas, with some substantial plans in the pipeline.

鈥淚 wanted to create something free and long lasting,鈥� Handley says, 鈥淔rom the outset, I have been thinking of how it can continue after I die. I think a free event on the scale of Sculpture by the Sea does add something to our sense of community. It makes us feel good about ourselves and our world.鈥�

Written by Steve Meacham for聽Sydney Alumni Magazine, Photography by Michael Amendolia, Stefanie Zingsheim and Clyde Yee.